Church of Santa Cristina

Facciata Chiesa Santa Cristina (L.Corevi, Comune di Pisa)

The first news dates back to the 8th century near the Roman bridge that connected the current Palazzo Blu, inside which traces of the 13th century pavement are still visible, to the church of Santa Maria dei Galletti, where the early medieval Golden Gate was located. The apse, datable to the 10th century, reveals that the original church was located a few meters below the current road surface. The interior has a single nave, but the extensive 19th century restorations have changed its structure and the decoration system.

The stigmata of Santa Caterina da Siena: on the entrance door of the church we can read s. catharina virgo senesis hic recepit stigmata christi, in memory of the miraculous episode during which Santa Caterina da Siena, Patroness of Italy, received the stigmata as she prayed before the Crucifix by Enrico di Tedice (12th century), on 1 April 1375. The painting, considered miraculous, is no longer there, but in its place there is a nineteenth-century copy, since the original was transported to Siena by Cosimo I in 1565. '... vidi il Signore confitto in croce, che veniva verso di me in una gran luce e fu tanto lo slancio dell'anima mia, desiderosa di andare incontro al suo Creatore che il corpo fu costretto ad alzarsi. Allora dalle cicatrici delle sue santissime piaghe, vidi scendere in me cinque raggi sanguigni diretti alle mani e ai piedi e al mio cuore. Subito esclamai: Ah Signore, Dio mio: te ne prego: che non appariscano queste cicatrici all'esterno del mio corpo. Mentre dicevo così, prima che i raggi arrivassero a me, cambiarono il loro colore sanguigno in colore splendente' ('... I saw the Lord nailed to the cross, coming towards me in a great light and so strong was the impulse of my soul, eager to go towards its Creator, that the body was forced to get up. Then from the scars of his most holy wounds, I saw five blood rays descend towards me directed to my hands and feet and to my heart. I immediately exclaimed: Oh Lord, my God: I beg you, do not let these scars appear on the outside of my body. As I said this, before the rays came to me, they changed their blood colour to a bright colour').